In "Normal Female Interest in Men Bonking," M.Fae Glasgow said, "I already have a strong female role model...it's called a mirror." One reason that I write more about male media characterrs than about female media characters is precisely that media usually offers us men who are more interesting than real ones, and women who are a LOT less interesting than real ones.
The subject of gender in Firefly is a very complex one though...I mean, if you look at how Mal, Book, Jayne, Simon, and Wash perform masculinity, it's easier to say that they're not even playing from the same rulebook than to try to assess who's winning. And Serenity wouldn't be space-worthy even as often as she is without Kaylee--do we measure Kaylee's gender performance by her frilly pink dress or her wrenches and soldering iron?
I'm not entirely out of sympathy with Monette's statement. As Shaw said, the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves but how she's treated, and as long as women are treated differently from men, this will be part of the background against which every woman develops. Within a particular family, for example, it's likely that the girls will be treated differently from the boys, which will have an effect both on their choices (whether to conform or dissent) and how likely they are to achieve them--but not all the sisters, or all the brothers, will be identical.
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zvi and
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Date: 2007-09-02 02:48 am (UTC)The subject of gender in Firefly is a very complex one though...I mean, if you look at how Mal, Book, Jayne, Simon, and Wash perform masculinity, it's easier to say that they're not even playing from the same rulebook than to try to assess who's winning. And Serenity wouldn't be space-worthy even as often as she is without Kaylee--do we measure Kaylee's gender performance by her frilly pink dress or her wrenches and soldering iron?
I'm not entirely out of sympathy with Monette's statement. As Shaw said, the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves but how she's treated, and as long as women are treated differently from men, this will be part of the background against which every woman develops. Within a particular family, for example, it's likely that the girls will be treated differently from the boys, which will have an effect both on their choices (whether to conform or dissent) and how likely they are to achieve them--but not all the sisters, or all the brothers, will be identical.